Tesla Model Y is judged the safest car in Australia for 2025 as ANCAP reveals the top safety performers across SUV, ute and passenger car segments – and all except Toyota HiLux are Chinese-built EVs.
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The safest small SUVs in Australia: ANCAP Top 5 for 2025
The safest small SUVs in Australia are also among the cheapest, whether petrol, hybrid or EV. From Kia and Mini to GAC and MG, we reveal ANCAP’s top safety performers for 2025.
Six out of every 10 new cars sold in Australia are SUVs, and small SUVs are growing faster than any other segment as buyers appreciate their affordability, practicality and high economy – especially as new hybrid and EV models arrive.
Many of these also carry a maximum five-star safety rating, but deeper analysis of the cars assessed by ANCAP in 2025 has separated them to find the Top 5 safest small SUVs.
To do this, ANCAP has revisited its four pillars of assessment in 2025 – Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection and ‘Safety Assist’ (advanced driver assistance systems) – and applied weighted scores that place a high emphasis on physical crash protection.
That gives us the safest small SUVs for 2025, as tested by ANCAP, which include some of the cheapest petrol, hybrid and EV cars in Australia and cover a mix of budget and popular mainstream brands such as MG and Kia. Let’s count them down from 5 to 1…
More: Research and compare new cars, SUVs and utes on sale today in Australia
5. MG ZS
Adult Occupant Protection: 81%
Child Occupant Protection: 84%
Vulnerable Road User Protection: 73%
Safety Assist: 79%
Overall weighted score: 79.6%
Starting below $23,000 drive-away, the budget-priced MG ZS comes into the Top 5 safest small SUVs after an upgrade in 2025 added a centre front airbag to minimise injuries to the driver and front passenger in the event of a crash. It applies to ZS petrol and hybrid models built from December 4, 2025, lifting the previous four-star overall safety rating to five stars with an increase to the SUV’s adult occupant protection score (now 81%). A minimum of 80% is required in this area to achieve a maximum five-star rating. There were other mixed results for the ZS in original testing conducted in 2024, including rear seatbelt performance, which remain with the updated model. However, ANCAP has welcomed MG’s running change to the ZS with the extra airbag.
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The addition of a centre front airbag has improved the safety credentials of the MG ZS small SUV.
4. Kia EV3
Adult Occupant Protection: 83%
Child Occupant Protection: 86%
Vulnerable Road User Protection: 78%
Safety Assist: 81%
Overall weighted score: 82.2%
The Kia EV3 was RACV’s ‘Best Small Electric Car’ in 2025, impressing with its excellent driving manners, thoughtful design, practical layout, high-level tech and, as reinforced here, its safety performance. The EV3 delivered good crash test results across the board for adult and child occupants, though ‘marginal’ protection was noted for the driver and front passenger’s upper legs in the frontal offset test. Full points were achieved in side impact testing, reflecting a low injury risk. ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said: “Following in the footsteps of the larger EV9 and EV5 models, the Kia EV3 has demonstrated the brand’s continued prioritisation of safety for its Australian and New Zealand customers.”
Note: The Jaecoo J7 SHS PHEV also achieved a solid 82.2% overall weighted score but is broadly considered a medium SUV, despite ANCAP’s classification in the segment below. This would have placed the J7 among the top 10 safest medium SUVs in Australia (see our separate report).
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The Kia EV3 received full points in side impact testing, reflecting low injury risk to occupants.
3. Mini Aceman
Adult Occupant Protection: 83%
Child Occupant Protection: 87%
Vulnerable Road User Protection: 77%
Safety Assist: 83%
Overall weighted score: 82.6%
The Mini Aceman is a true crossover car that’s more of a high-riding hatchback than a dedicated small SUV, providing the British brand with a premium EV that’s built in China under a joint venture between parent company BMW and GWM. Most importantly, this light-sized SUV is safe, as found in ANCAP testing where stable structures were observed across a variety of crash tests. In particular, the Aceman performed well in side impact collisions, while its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system and ‘active’ bonnet proved effective in scenarios involving pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. Effective lane support systems were also observed.
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The Mini Aceman performed well in a variety of crash tests, proving to be one of the safest small SUVs.
2. GAC Aion V
Adult Occupant Protection: 88%
Child Occupant Protection: 87%
Vulnerable Road User Protection: 79%
Safety Assist: 79%
Overall weighted score: 84.2%
Part of the first wave of GAC models to launch in Australia late in 2025, the electric GAC Aion V is another SUV that bridges the small/medium categories and it performed strongly in ANCAP testing, placing among some of Australia’s safest new cars. ANCAP highlighted strong results from the Aion V in side impact crash tests, helping achieve solid overall scores for protection of adults (88%) and children (87%). Its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system performed well in car-to-car and intersection testing, but less so in head-on scenarios at high speeds. AEB also doesn’t operate when the EV is reversing. ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg praised the Aion V’s overall result and said it demonstrates “the importance of assessing new brands and models entering the market, regardless of segment or powertrain”.
Research & compare GAC Aion V models on sale: specs, features, running costs, safety
The new GAC Aion V achieved solid scores from ANCAP for adult and child occupant crash protection.
1. MG S5
Adult Occupant Protection: 90%
Child Occupant Protection: 86%
Vulnerable Road User Protection: 82%
Safety Assist: 79%
Overall weighted score: 85.4%
Currently priced from $40,990 drive-away for Victorian private buyers, the new MG S5 is one of the cheapest EVs on the market and has now proven to be the safest small SUV in Australia, based on ANCAP testing in 2025. The S5 was the only small SUV tested last year to reach 90% for adult occupant protection, and it scored 86% for child occupant protection. It proved effective in protecting vulnerable road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists, although the S5’s performance for motorbike riders was rated ‘marginal’ – as was the performance of AEB when reversing. “Following a series of mixed safety outcomes for MG in recent times, the addition of this new five-star model is encouraging,” said ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg. “It reinforces MG’s ability to meet the highest safety standards, and we look forward to seeing this level of commitment carry through to future new model releases.”
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The electric MG S5 small SUV proves that affordable new cars can be among the safest to buy.
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